Decorative handrails are customarily comprised of upper and lower rail portions which extend between or traverse the length of the railing between newels or end posts, and balusters extend vertically between the handrails at longitudinally spaced intervals. The construction and assembly of such hand railings at the job site requires the exercise of a great deal of skill and care, particularly since the angular relationship established between the balusters and rail portions will vary with the inclination or pitch of the staircase or other surface with which it is associated. Most exacting and time-consuming is to properly align the balusters in precise vertically extending, equally spaced relation to one another along the inclined portions of a staircase once the rail portions are properly cut to length and fastened in place between the newels or end posts. Swivel or pivotal type connectors have been devised in the past for use in railing systems and for example reference is made to U.S. Pat. No. 3,804,374 to Thom as well as U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,356,392 and 3,289,381 to Blum et al. Further, the desirability of providing composite moldings which can be interchangeably employed and interfitted in different combinations by professionals and novices alike in constructing handrails for decorative and functional purposes is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,112,195 granted to applicants to this invention. The invention disclosed therein has to do more with the composite molding elements making up the rail portions and which are laminated together in a variety of combinations to build up a composite molding structure of a preselected size and shape.
The present invention is more concerned with the provision for an adjustable handrail system which permits the desired latitude in the selection of baluster and handrail designs and which will greatly facilitate on-site installation by professionals or novices; yet is adjustable at the installation site to conform to any variations in pitch or inclination of the base surface along which it extends.